PenguinSix

• @lydie325 No snow, just dengue fever outbreaks and typhoons. Nothing is perfect I guess. in reply to lydie325 #
• Thought about digging out the car but what's the point? No where to go anyway. #snowpocalypse #
• Using the WTO to break down the Great Firewall of China http://bit.ly/cFiw33 #
• @joanek Here are four channels of Montgomery Fire dispatch. http://bit.ly/d3qf0u in reply to joanek #
• @joanek You know you want it. It's like crack. Just a little hit and you'll be hooked for the night… in reply to joanek #
• Track all DC plows via GPS #Snowpocalypse http://bit.ly/5igHwo #
• Kerosene heater, propane stove, tub with h2o, car parked 100 yds down by road. And we live in the most developed nation. #Snowpocalypse #
• Dexter Manley's Superbowl Ring, kept free from the drug dealers by a caring lawyer. http://bit.ly/aHxfVD #
• Major snowball fights being planned across multiple social networks for DC. NO GUNS ALLOWED THIS TIME. http://bit.ly/90hFzw #snowpocalypse #
• @brendanloy Follow DC weather alerts @dcWeatherAlerts and DC Weather Bloggers @capitalweather #
• This means me. RT @dcWeatherAlerts: National Weather Service extends blizzard warning to the western Shores of the Bay. http://bit.ly/9OesiV #
• Secretly I know that I could move like the guys in District 13, it's just I don't feel like it at the moment. http://bit.ly/bBv7uY #
• @capitalweather first flurries in Calvert Co. /. Huntingtown 1043am #
• Was worried about shoveling 20 inches of #dcsnow but then realized I don't have anywhere to go so I'll just hunker down for a few days. #
• @davidporter Wonder if it will be faster overall. Would imagine so. in reply to davidporter #
• @thekenyeung 'Dreamer' stands apart from 'doer' in the context of ?. There are positives about being a dreamer, so maybe 'just a dreamer'. in reply to thekenyeung #
• @thekenyeung Simple: A dreamer. Or "just an idea man" emphasizing 'just' in sort of a negative way. in reply to thekenyeung #
• @mnouz 2 glitches I had re: drobo. Do not plug into front fw/usb ports but ones in rear of pc- also plug elec. into wall not power strip. in reply to mnouz #
• Possible major breakthrough in H1N1 treatment discovered by 28-year-old Aussie doctor. http://bit.ly/aSpE3d? #
• Apples new patent on Touch Bezels could explain why the iPad has such a large bezel. http://bit.ly/cOFRXy #
• The fact my move to Hong Kong will be for a less frantic, slower pace of life should give you an idea of the chaos currently around me. #
• @georgiewale download the app MoSS for all BBC national stations. in reply to georgiewale #
• Turn your iPhone/iPod into a touch mouse for your computer. http://bit.ly/9tg01d #
• iPhone SDK 2.7gb download #fail when using Safari on 3 different occasions. Worked first time on Chrome. WTF? #
• How long could you survive a Zombie attack if you were hunkered down in a Sams Club / Costco? http://bit.ly/aUyzKt #
• @robpegoraro @ The Wash. Post is writing about the possible demise of #Flash http://bit.ly/b55GMt Also @scobleizer http://bit.ly/9DT0BS #
• Cracking open the iPhone dev book that has been collecting dust here. http://ff.im/fdmze #
• Great read for any would-be techie. RT @msuster The Yo-Yo Life of a Tech Entrepreneur – A Cautionary Tale http://bothsid.es/572 #
• @marcthiessen Congrats on #31 Time to move it up. in reply to marcthiessen #
• Arsenal v. Man Utd and I'm stuck on a "honey do" trip to Ikea. FML #

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No, I haven’t heard of it either.  I was flipping around Youtube watching some Top Gear clips when I happened to see a Jeremy Clarkson video of a documentary called “The Greatest Raid”.  I started watching, and boy was I glad I did.

The Greatest Raid was essentially a suicide mission of British Commandos on the docks at St. Nazaire along the Atlantic coast of France in 1942.  Designed to knock out a drydock facility for the German battleship Tirpitz the raid played an important role in ensuring the Atlantic convoys continued to feed England in the dark days following the Battle of Britain.  Loaded aboard an old US destroyer and tiny patrol boats, the Commandos made their way up an estuary to the heavily defended docks.

It’s all up on Youtube, and it’s a pretty amazing story worth 45 minutes of your life.

• Watching Hong Kong gangster flicks trying to get my head around the fact I'll be back there in about 3 weeks. #
• Snow in the backyard at Chesapeake Beach an hour ago. Much deeper now. #dcsnow http://tweetphoto.com/9994442 #
• @thekenyeung aol paying if you write about sxsw. http://www.dmwmedia.com/news/2010/01/28/aol039s-seedcom-pay-freelancers-cover-sxsw-bands in reply to thekenyeung #
• @drkiki #DKSH no vid because net is down, but you could ask about theory dinos did not die by asteroid. http://bit.ly/bJtLkJ in reply to drkiki #
• RT @BreakingNews: Study linking vaccines to autism 'dishonest,' 'irresponsible,' British Medical Council rules http://bit.ly/94a32V #
• Not content with just hitting the water main the contractors have now hit the cable tv/net cable. Wonder if iPhone tethering works yet. #
• @thekenyeung go to the airport and get on a random flight. More adventure. in reply to thekenyeung #
• Septic tank diggers found the water main. We now have a fountain in the yard. #
• Flash is sooooo 2008. #
• iPad craziness and I'm stuck outside putting in a $5500 septic drainfield. My shoes smell funny. #
• @juliehallboston cash cash cash cash cash. In the end that's what makes us save energy. Make the financial argument and you win every time in reply to juliehallboston #
• @momfluential I've never heard good about dreamhost. I use mosso which is ok for smaller sites. Singlehop is my dedicated server–solid. in reply to momfluential #
• Army Corps of Engineers taking bids for NSA's new $1.7 billion data center in the middle of Utah. http://bit.ly/b4fYqU #
• Army Corps of Engineers taking bids for NSA's new $1.7 billion data center in the middle of Utah. #
• Watching a friend of mine on Let's Make a Deal. She was one of the first contestants today who won a new home theater http://bit.ly/ccfwh3 #
• @drkiki Hope you have seen the movie 24 Hour Party People. A good one for Joy Division fans. in reply to drkiki #
• @jack anytime you talk to the IRS get the operator number of the person. The conversation & notes you have can come into play later. in reply to jack #
• Most people watch WALL-E and see an environmental message. I see an awkward guy trying to get the hot girl. Almost autobiographical #
• @ScotteVest Video yes, but it opens in a media player, not on the page. Why not put it on Youtube and embed YT into your page? in reply to ScotteVest #
• Would cable movie channels exist if Kelly's Heroes had never been made? It's on daily I think… #
• I went to college with the Saint's head coach and special teams coach and my jr. high football coach is the replay official. Small world. #
• When God created football it was because he wanted to watch games like this one. #
• Can anyone on the Vikings hold on to the ball? #
• @thekenyeung I think the Colts were reading your tweets and realized they should wake up and destroy something… in reply to thekenyeung #
• It the annals of chick movies, Legally Blonde actually isn't that bad. If you are forced to watch one, you can do much worse than this one. #
• @steve You don't want to know the result. Just go back to bed, or watch bobsledding on Speed Channel instead. in reply to steve #
• It's so hard to plan a productive and exciting day when it's cold, grey and miserable outside. Maybe some productive sleeping. #
• Rumors that AT&T exclusivity for the iPhone to end on January 27…. http://ff.im/eKUZh #

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Dry dock cancelled? Haiti mission imminent?

After reading this blog post calling for the USNS Mercy to be activated and deployed to Haiti, I found some interesting tidbits here on a San Francisco bloggers page:  Work on the USNS Mercy, scheduled for drydock work in San Francisco, may have been cancelled and the workers at the drydock laid off.  A possible deployment to Haiti was cited as the reason.  The USNS MERCY was in drydock in Mission Bay area of San Francisco but the workers were told they were laid off until further notice.

Trying to find more than just a blog post to confirm that.

Here was the original dry docking proposal.

I’m starting to compile a list of bloggers and twitterer’s on board the USNS Comfort.

USNS Comfort Twitter Account

Blogs:

HaitiComfort (official blog)

Comfort XO

US Naval Institute (the publishing arm for many Naval Press books)

Baltimore Sun on-board reporter

more coming…

p.s. Calls are now being made for the West Coast Hospital Ship, the USNS MERCY, to be activated and sent to Haiti, so great is the need and so much stress being put on the COMFORT.

• @juliehallboston It's Dances with Smurfs. Plot weak, but visually cool Must see in 3D. Skip the 2D. Wasn't a life changing event for me. in reply to juliehallboston #
• @juliehallboston More here http://community.babycenter.com/post/a21332223/avatar_-_appropriate_for_a_5_year_old in reply to juliehallboston #
• I'm stuck in a German techno-rave club in Second Life. Weird has been redefined… #
• @juliehallboston It's not Spongebob. Many lizard horses and hammerhead elephants and a bunch of other acid-based creatures. Scary for 5. in reply to juliehallboston #
• @aliciamk Ok. Maybe on later if the F@#$%@#$% doesn't crash again. in reply to aliciamk #
• @aliciamk What's your second life name? I'm PenguinSix Venkman–just got the stupid thing to work for the first time in months. in reply to aliciamk #
• @juliehallboston Avatar != 5 yr old. There are a lot of monsters and scary looking things. Even the good 'creatures' are nightmare worthy. in reply to juliehallboston #
• @thekenyeung Whatever you decide, when you are actually eating you'll probably wish you decided the other option. in reply to thekenyeung #
• @jlcoassin Any parent who tells you they don't give the iPhone to their kids is a liar. It's the best toy ever. in reply to jlcoassin #
• Moving to Hong Kong where everything is 220v is going to see a major ebay-age of many many gadgets. Sigh. #
• @Scobleizer You're right. Like the iPhone, who cares about the hardware. t's what you are going to DO with the thing that is the big sell. in reply to Scobleizer #
• Four Lions, a comedy about jihadist suicide bombers (yeah, seriously) actually looks funny. Clip: http://bit.ly/4LgWvK #
• Moving to Hong Kong in 4 weeks. Guess I should start packing. Back in a year or two. #
• Jane, you ignorant slut. If you've never seen it, you simply haven't lived. http://bit.ly/qdche #
• Email leads SAR team and CNN to Haitian Univ. where students may still be alive after 9 days. #haiti #
• @leolaporte The DMV. Is that a good thing? in reply to leolaporte #
• @loic Inbox. Wonder if email is going to be read in Seesmic Look in reply to loic #
• My son calls Microsoft Excel the 'froggy'. I guess the logo looks like a frog. #
• @Scobleizer But would you run it on an Apple tablet vs. a twitter app? in reply to Scobleizer #
• @goodetobefirst Good pizza at Matchbox in Chinatown (7th/H NW). DC lunches at Eastern Market Lunch (7th/D SE) or Ben's Chilli (12th/U NW) in reply to goodetobefirst #
• Fmr. Pres. Candidate John Edwards admits what everyone already knows. He is the father of the love child. http://bit.ly/7GJn8d #
• Obama's Justice Department supports extremely radical pro-RIAA positions against music sharing http://bit.ly/7B3V1b #
• @goodetobefirst Welcome to DC. Did you bring the California crap weather with you? ice/snow tonight in reply to goodetobefirst #
• Idiot's domestic disharmony just erupted on the road near me in a tirade of threats and obscenities. Rang 911. Wake me up–go to jail. #
• Just took a 4 hour lunch break to see Avatar 3D. Yes, #9to5sucks. #
• @robpegoraro Last time NYT charged for content I went about 16 months without even looking at their website. in reply to robpegoraro #
• @steve Do you wear glasses (re: 3D Avatar). Wondering if that impacts it at all. in reply to steve #
• Should I see Avatar in 3D (30 minute drive) or regular strength (10 minute drive). Last chance before craziness starts. #
• @jamescridland Glad you had a fun. My wife is in HK signing an apartment lease but I won't be there until March. Will meet up next time. in reply to jamescridland #
• The circular firing squad returns to the Democratic party. http://bit.ly/86RqCB #
• @dsearls interesting prediction. He certainly will eat into the Palin base. in reply to dsearls #
• Have no idea about pizza I bought as phone call stole me away from dinner. Bummer #
• Great, the baby found the keyboard nnu  RUNNING tw eegth o dkiecniun #
• ' #
• Fear, uncertainty, doubt rule at this moment as I'm about to order a pizza from a new place I've never tried before…. #
• Tornado warning for LA? That's pretty weird. #
• @loic I've even done video conferences via Skype on Virgin. The connection is that good. #
• Massive homeopathic 'overdose' planned to protest UK pharmacy selling silly do-nothing 'cures'. #ten23 #homeopathic http://bit.ly/6vqDr8 #
• All these tweets about Cadbury are making me hungry. #
• @thekenyeung That means you have to buy whatever they announce. It's in the fine print of the invite, probably… in reply to thekenyeung #
• Military bloggers fly to #haiti to provide security for rescue convoys. http://bit.ly/5UMtSR Donate now. #

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Expect some controversy when this one opens.

The COMFORT is on station off the coast, as you’ll see from this Navy photo just released.

Dan Woolley was trapped under the rubble of the Haiti earthquake without much information about what to do.  He was in pain, but not sure of his overall situation.  He needed help, and believe it or not, it was just a finger slide away.

His iPhone.

Woolley used his iPhone as a flashlight (a totally under-appreciated function) to diagnose his foot as broken.

Then, he used the instructions from (a medical) app to treat the excessive bleeding from cuts on his legs and the back of his head.  Woolley used his shirt to tie off the three-inch gash that was opened on his leg and a sock to bandage the back of his head. He said he also looked up ways to stop from going into shock.

Woolley also used the notepad function to type out his last notes to his wife and kids, should he not make it.  But he survived and is back doing the talk show rounds this morning.

On a slightly more serious note, there are several iPhone applications on sale today with the proceeds going to benefit Haiti earthquake relief.

The USNS COMFORT'S first patient gets treatment.

Although not technically ‘there’ yet the Comfort is now within helicopter range of Haiti and has started taking in some patients from the earthquake, according to various press sources.  Good timing too as there has just been another after-shock.

The Baltimore Sun is on board and reports that the entire ship went through an Abandon Ship drill just moments before the first helicopters brought in a 20 year old male with spine problems and a 6 year old boy.

The COMFORT’s Medivac Helos will be in operation today starting at 7:00 am EST.  The crew is still busy getting things ready, preparing for water rationing (to give more to patients) and to ‘hot rack’ the bunks to give more room for the wounded and a full crew.

With the addition of 350 medical and service personnel, who were expected to be in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, overnight and to begin arriving on the ship today, the Comfort will exceed its capacity of 1,200 crew members. Officers were making arrangements for crew members to share berths, a practice known as “hot-racking,” in which one person sleeps while another is on duty.

I have five more google wave invites if anyone wants one.

You aren’t missing much though…

You know, I get asked this all the time, so here are the instructions.

• Find the Youtube video you want.  
• Click PLAY.
• While the video is playing, goto the top of the page and open WINDOW–>ACTIVITY 
• Take a look at all the elements of that page (you may have to click the ‘carrot’ to display)
• Find the one that is still ‘moving’, i.e. getting bigger and bigger in size.
• Double-click on that item specifically.
• A new window will open up and the file will download to your harddrive.

The file will likely be a FLASH .flv movie, but you can convert it with Quicktime Pro or VLC or any number of other programs, converting it to an m4v for your iPhone if you want.

Here endeth the lesson.

Help from above.

Just a few days after the Defense Secretary said that air drops of relief supplies would lead to chaos and rioting, the Air Force has apparently changed their mind and launched their first parachute delivery of supplies into Haiti.  A C-17 from Nouth Carolina did a 7-hour mission to drop MREs and bottled water into an area controlled by US troops.  

Approximately 40 pallets per plane are dropped, and military officials are planning an additional 15 sorties for a total of 600 pallets in the next three days.  CBS News has video of the airdrops.

Roll on, Roll Off

Interesting tidbit here about the capabilities of Port au Prince airport.

Currently, we’re operating with a working maximum aircraft on the ground of one wide-body and five narrow-body aircraft. And the one wide-body is planned for two hours on the ground, and the five narrow-bodies are planned for one hour on the ground. We also have room for three smaller aircraft, and then we fit in as much as we can other aircraft that arrive that we have space for. Any aircraft that can taxi into the grass and get off the ramp that the big aircraft need to be on, we use that option.

There’s been the typical “it’s a disaster because I’m not there” claims from some aid agencies and amongst those in Europe.  Some counties have even sent large commercial aircraft, including a Chinese 747, a Dutch KC-10, an Iceland 757 and other civilian airliners to a tiny airstrip that basically has very limited loading and unloading facilities.  Other countries and aid agencies basically ignored ground controllers and crashed the line of planes, basically saying ‘we’re going to run out of fuel and crash if you don’t let us land’ thus creating even more chaos and confusion.

Cargo planes that require complicated loading and unloading trucks might not be the best option in these situations.  American C-130 and C-17 aircraft are accessible directly from the ground, no “lift trucks” needed to remove and equipment can be driven off by a forklift rather than slowly disembarked by complicated machinery.  Perhaps there is a need for standardizing the airlift requirements of the Haitian airlift.

For example, check out some of the guidelines that were used in the Berlin Airlift requirements:

In August, General William Tunner, a veteran of supply runs during World War II over the Hump (between India and China), arrived to direct and standardize operations to increase efficiency and safety. He discouraged flying heroics, saying that ” a successful airlift is about as glamorous as drops of water on a stone.” And the new flying regulations reflected this, leaving little room for error. Airplanes took off every three minutes, around the clock. They maintained that interval throughout the 170-mile (274-kilometers) flight, not veering an inch from the prescribed route, speed, or altitude. When they arrived in Berlin, they were allowed only one landing attempt. If they missed it, they had to transport the load back to base. When each plane landed in Berlin, the crew stayed in the plane: a snack bar on a wagon gave them food, and weathermen arrived in jeeps with weather updates. As soon as Germans unloaded the last bit of cargo, the plane would take off. Back at base, there was a 1-hour 40-minute turnaround allowed for ground crews to refuel, reload, do preflight preparations, and perform any required maintenance, which was considerable as the engines experienced rapid and excessive wear from the short flights. Tires also experienced extreme stress from the heavy loads and hard landings.

I wonder if turning Homestead ARB into a cargo redistribution center would be a better idea than having all manner of strange aircraft trying to fight their way into Port au Prince.  Have the planes of the world come to Homestead, consolidate their loads and cargos on easy to load and unload C-130s and C-17s, and then create an orderly and pattern-packed line of aircraft into and out of Haiti.

It’s just a matter of time before some Airbus breaks down in Haiti and requires a special part flown in from France.  If we are serious about an air bridge, maybe we should consider standard aircraft, standard loading / unloading requirements, and standard parts and repairs to keep the flow of aid moving.

Interesting end note:  the other international airport, Cap Haitien, may soon take more flights.